A French girl's musings…

A very simple case of Flu

It had been years since I’d last fallen prey to this. I’d forgotten about the shivers, the hacking cough, the cold seeping right into your bones while your brain feels like a heavy burning stone, the fever engendering mad visions, lips swollen and cracked, parched, craving the coolness of spring water — feeling so weak and delirious that you ask the doctor with a slight tremor: “am I dying?”

“No, you are not dying” says he – clearly amused – he even indulges in a little chuckle. “What we have here is a very simple case of flu.”

Simple? If I wasn’t incapacitated, Iwould give him a hard stare, but as it is I can barely manage to keep my eyes open. “Simple” he says, like it’s nothing, hardly worth mentioning…while I could swear I have been lost in the fiery pits of hell during the last few days. “Where is Asclepius when you need him?” I think… only I must have thought it out loud because the doctor chuckles again. “Fond of Greek mythology, are we?” I don’t have the energy to reply, even though in my usual ‘healthy’ state I would have jumped at the chance to elaborate on the subject. I do not remember what else the doctor had to say since I kind of zoned out after that… it’s all a blank.

There’s a couple of things I am quite sure of though, now that I’m starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and (crossing fingers, touching wood, etc…) on the mend: One: I turn into a pitiful (and petulant) human being when I’m ill. Two: if anybody should try to be funny and suggest that maybe it wasn’t the flu but a ‘simple’ cold, I shall slowly but surely lick their face — and let my flu germs do the rest.

Feel better soon! Reminds me of a little tussle with the yellow fever in Paramaribo lo these many years ago. Shook it off quick enough, but it was hell waiting to see if the vomito negro would kick in.

Perhaps. Ex-wife #2 said that my life was a series of ill-conceived schemes and self-inflicted peril, tempered by the survival instinct of the cockroach, against the backdrop of the bars and cafes of the world. The truth is probably somewhere in between!

I hope you are now fully recovered. Being diabetic I am entitled to a free flue jab on the UK’s National Health Service (to prevent rather than give me the flue that is)! I have taken advantage of the jab and hope it will ward off anything nasty! Kevin

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I'm French and I like to write. I'm opinionated, a real bookworm, obsessed with words, interested in Fashion & Style. I don't follow the crowd and I'm drawn towards *unique* people who have things to say. Intelligence is sexy and brains really do it for me.
I'm also a qualified journalist, in possession of the NCTJ diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists in the UK.